COMMUNITY MAGAZINE
JANUARY 2017
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Roncalli Recognized For Outstanding Special Education Program
PIctured (left to right): Cathy Weinmann - Initial president of STARS Advisory Council, Mickey Lentz - chancellor for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, Pat Musgrave - Roncalli STARS Coordinator, Michelle Roberts - Life Academy Coordinator, and Principal Chuck Weisenbach
Roncalli High School was one of five local schools honored by The Indianapolis Urban League at their Second Annual Salute to Educational Excellence Luncheon and Forum on Thursday, November 3. Roncalli was honored for its outstanding Special Education programs (STARS and Life Academy) and for the school’s long history of serving students with special needs in a Catholic educational setting.
Applications For Registration Now Being Accepted Call 787-8277, ext. 243 or visit www.roncalli.org
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CENTER GROVE COMMUNITY MAGAZINE
PUBLISHER Tom Britt
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GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Toni Folzenlogel Austin Vance
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EDITORIAL MANAGER Kara Kavensky
EDITOR
Marc Sirkin
JANUARY WRITERS
Andi Robinson Christy Heitger-Ewing Suzanne Huntzinger Kara Kavensky
TORCHLITE’S SHAWN HERRING
JANUARY PHOTOGRAPHERS
When Susan Marshall originally shared her idea with Shawn Herring, he instinctively knew she was on to something. Both former ExactTarget employees and both marketing experts, the disruptive digital marketing concept Marshall presented was attractive.
14
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Brian Brosmer Marc Sirkin Amy Unger
SHOP LOCAL! Help our local economy by shopping local. Advertising supporters of the Center Grove Community Magazine offset the costs of publication and mailing, keeping this publication FREE. Show your appreciation by thanking them with your business. BUSINESS SPOTLIGHTS ARE SPONSORED CONTENT
6 Greenwood Christian Academy 11 Karen Mangia Creates Success With Less
14 Sun King’s Bob Whitt 22 Prime Lending 24 Greenwood Welcomes Jack’s
27 Shon Joyner: The Wheel Adventure
The Center Grove Community Magazine is published by Towne Post Network, Inc. and is written for and by local Center Grove residents. Submit story ideas to PR@atCenterGrove.com.
Series on The Discovery Channel
29 Keeping a Rivalry Alive: Gauguin v. Seurat
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The Future of Center Grove Mr. Roncalli - Bob Tully
Donuts!
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BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT Greenwood Christian Academy 835 West Worthsville Rd. Greenwood, IN 46143 Phone: 317-215-5300 www.gcak12.org
GREENWOOD CHRISTIAN ACADEMY CHRIST CENTERED ACADEMICS, WELL ROUNDED GRADUATES
Writer / Suzanne Huntzinger
county, and the rest from surrounding areas Martinsville and even as far away as Hendricks County.
Greenwood Christian Academy’s niche is providingstudents with a challenging curriculum in a Christ centered environment. At the heart of Greenwood Christian Over the last 17 years, the school has Academy (GCA) is the rigorous curriculum. successfully capitalized on that niche. The school separates the age groups in to three wings, the K-4 elementary wing, the The K-12 academy primarily serves south5-8 middle school wing, and the 9-12 high central Indiana, drawing 70% of their school wing to give each group the greatest enrollment base from the Johnson county attention possible for effective learning. The community, 23% from nearby Marion program produces results for the students
starting in the elementary grades; 100% of their third graders pass the IRead. The results in the high school are even more impressive. GCA offers the promise of a 100% graduation rate, and 100% of the graduates are accepted to a four-year university. One of the gems in GCA’s pocket is their tremendously successful SAT and ACT prep course. “It’s so successful we had one student get a perfect score on the ACT,” says Annie Houston, the school’s
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Development Director. Contributing to the high school’s success is a program that includes the offering of dual credit courses. It’s a program made possible by the school’s partnerships with Grace College, Vincennes and Grand Canyon Universities. GCA also has a popular Chemistry class taught by a Franklin College Professor. But something more stands out for GCA. “It’s the family atmosphere at the school, the integration of faith, love, mercy and community,” Houston explains. Providing foundational faith with the bible woven in to every subject daily is something you would expect from GCA whose students come from 87 different Christian churches of a wide variety of Christian denominations. “We work hard teaching kids to learn God’s truth to carry through to adulthood to live out their faith,” explains Houston. Having a student led chapel team that plans themes and bible discussion is an important part of teaching that. Grooming their students to be wellrounded is another goal at GCA. “We want them to succeed spiritually, academically, and socially,” Houston says. The staff at the school put a lot in to creating a wellrounded student. Houston adds that one of her favorite things about the school is how each teacher is invested in the kids, in what they do and in each other to create a creative, caring community environment. “Even the school Superintendent stays connected to the students by planning age appropriate after school activities like taking one age group fishing in a pond on the school property, building a sledding hill inside the school for another, even stopping to take selfies with the kids. He really works at building relationships,” Houston says. The Athletics and the Arts programs at GCA offer even more ways for students to become well-rounded. The school offers a wide variety of sports for middle schoolers and high schoolers including basketball, soccer, track, volleyball, swimming, and cheerleading. The school also offers a full music program with orchestra, band and choir. The high school drama program will be presenting Hello Dolly, with 6-8 participating
and K-5 students doing cameos. Even more remarkable than all the K-12 program at GCA is the way their alumni carry on the school’s tradition. “We have alums who coach at the school or run the after school clubs like Yearbook, Robotics or Math,” Houston says, “We have second generation students in our classrooms today. Our alums come back and stay in the community.” The school has exciting plans for growth. They want to continue increasing their enrollment which is already up from 20 students per grade to about 50 students per grade. With
an enrollment of 585, the building is at max capacity, so first on the list is expanding their current building and buying some land for a football field. Long range plans include building an athletic complex and perhaps even another school facility. To learn more about Greenwood Christian Academy, go to www.gcak12.org. Houston encourages prospective families to “Come visit our open house in January. Sign up to take the tour. We’d love to meet you and find a spot for you here.” Suzanne Huntzinger has a journalism degree from IU and has lived in the Geist community for 18 years.
atCenterGrove.com / JANUARY 2017 / CENTER GROVE COMMUNITY MAGAZINE / 7
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KAREN MANGIA
Creates Success WITH LESS
Writer / Kara Kavensky Photographer / Amy Unger
Karen Mangia, Vice President of Customer and Market Insights for SalesForce, recently discovered an old email exchange with a friend stating how “email was ridiculous and it would never catch on.” This is laughable now, but back then, the most radical idea was a handheld cell phone for talking, not texting. Since her college days, Mangia knew she wanted to work with customer data and took a nontraditional path to a tech career.
Karen enjoyed the constant change with AT&T, but Cisco was growing and she saw opportunity. Through a series of building blocks and choices at Cisco, Karen’s job ultimately transformed into what she had desired since college. She was the Nielsen ratings for Cisco. “I managed the annual survey process to customers,” says Karen, who performs a very similar job at SalesForce. “I assessed what was working and what wasn’t, where is the risk and sought market opportunities.
“I have been fascinated by why people make the choices they make, what are the trends, study the data points and weave together the story,” says Karen, who earned her undergrad and masters degrees at Ball State. “I wanted to work for Nielsen, until I discovered they were located in Iowa.”
“Like with anyone’s career path, every step is additive to the process as a whole. The steps lead someone somewhere. The technical data of customer feedback helps us figure out what to build next, what our customers want.”
Building her wheelhouse, Karen dug into project management and sales with AT&T before being recruited to Cisco.
Disruption is a concept Mangia has welcomed into her life time and again. Not all of the disruptions have been welcome, but all provided learning experiences. INDY METRO / JANUARY 2017 / TownePost.com
From a personal perspective, one pivotal moment in Karen’s life was backing out of a wedding after the invitations had been sealed and stamped. The longest car ride of Karen’s life was sitting in silence with her mother after her bridal shower on the way back to Karen’s home. Her mom pulled into a parking space and Karen started crying and told her mom not to unload the gifts. They would need to be returned. “The voice inside my head was screaming, DO NOT MARRY THIS GUY,” shares Karen. “By listening to the inner voice inside my head, I disrupted my entire life course and took a detour, which was my intended path all along.” The next major disruption occurred while Karen was working at Cisco. She was noticing signs something was not quite right. In her early 30s and experiencing success on many levels, she was displaying signs of fatigue. She justified her lowerthan-normal energy level as a result of
recently moved to a new house. Yet more symptoms were appearing. She told herself stories to explain the unwelcome signs her body was exhibiting. Karen’s health was in decline and she was doing her best to deny it. She became unrecognizable to herself in the mirror. Her hair was falling out, she had gained weight, her skin was yellow, and her once-vibrant blue eyes had turned grey. But she kept pushing herself as if nothing was wrong. She also started to forget where she placed things. “It was not until I couldn't remember my brother's name that I thought, ‘Oh my gosh. I can't ignore this any more,’” she shares. It was three and a half years before she was diagnosed with pesticide poisoning. Even in the midst of her health crisis, she did not slow down until she was forced to. She had to heal. Karen had to pay attention to what her inner voice — and her body — was telling her. “The first step is discovering what pushed the snowball down the mountain,” states Dr. Kevin Logan, Mangia’s physician. “Then a personalized prescription for diet and lifestyle changes are essential to the process of bringing the body back into balance.” It takes many lines of code to have a program perform as designed, and it takes time for your actions to propagate. The same applies to your health, especially when a body is in crisis. In her book Success With Less, Karen details her journey back to health. It’s not the physical healing that is dominant in the book, but more the emotional element that was her trigger. This healing opportunity impacted Karen’s approach to life. She was forced to audit her circumstances and figure out for herself what her idea of success looks like and how it needed to change.
“It's so easy to look at everyone else's life and find that success is easy for other people. ‘If I only had the right education, the right boss, the right job.’ But success is available to everyone,” she says. “The key piece is determining what success means to you and calibrating to that. Because when it is that definition, it is available to everyone. There is no key to a secret club. You create it.”
For more information, please visit: successwithless.net Follow Success With Less on Twitter and Facebook. Kara Kavensky, a freelance writer and storyteller. Follow her: Karakavensky.com; Facebook, Instagram and Twitter: @karakavensky.
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Writer / Kara Kavensky Photographer / Brian Brosmer
developer and broker with Duke Realty, other firms and on his own.
A more circuitous and unpredictable path could not have been had by Sun King President Bob Whitt with regards to his career, nor a more enjoyable one.
Bob’s previous work experience included Senator Lugar’s presidential campaign in 1995 and1996, where he worked with his wife, Ellen, a lawyer who spent 25 years in politics and public service at the state and federal level. She is now Executive Director for The Exchange at Marian University. During the campaign, Bob planned many rallies, fundraisers and additional events in the key primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire.
“The job I am in and the job I just left are both dream jobs,” says Bob. “I am fortunate enough to experience two in one lifespan.” Prior to Sun King, Bob served 11 years as the Executive Director of White River State Park, having been appointed by thenGovernor Mitch Daniels and reappointed by Mike Pence. The 250-acre downtown Indianapolis park includes the Indianapolis Zoo, White River Gardens, Eiteljorg Museum, Indiana State Museum, IMAX Theater, NCAA National Headquarters, The Lawn music venue, Victory Field (home of the Indianapolis Indians), Military Park and many other green spaces. “I was essentially the landlord, and was well prepared without knowing it in advance, as I understand event and property management,” shares Bob, who had worked for years as a commercial real estate
He started his career in business with some of the best sales and management training available at Xerox Corporation. He earned his MBA at University of Maryland while working for Xerox in Washington, D.C. The combination of his later commercial real estate development and brokerage experience, his personal obsession with food, wine, craft beer and the “locally grown and made” movement, his significant event experience and community/political involvement made him the ideal candidate for what the Sun King team needed, regardless of his lack of actual craft brewery experience. INDY METRO / JANUARY 2017 / TownePost.com
As part of the company’s initial push to help the community and create brand awareness, Sun King began popping up at local events in 2009. Bob noticed they seemed to be appearing all over the place. Sun King was located in downtown Indianapolis, so Bob dropped by and introduced himself. Walking into Sun King Brewery today looks dramatically different than it did at that time. The growth of Sun King has been exponential. The company exceeded its fiveyear production and sales goals within its first 18 months in business, creating a push for the state to raise the limit for allowable craft brewery production. “Originally, there were only a few tanks in that section,” says Bob, waving his hand towards the corner of the building. “I would occasionally come in, hang out, drink a beer, and get to know founders and brewers Clay Robinson and Dave Colt, plus partners Andy Fagg, Steve Koers, and Clay’s father, Omar.” As the relationship grew, Bob discovered they shared similar business philosophies regarding how a business should run responsibly, commitment to the community, and respect and treatment of employees. When Sun King first approached Bob
about replacing Omar, who was retiring as president, it came as a shock.
ties to the community. My vote was to go for it.”
“As Bob was considering making this major change, the thing that seemed to be holding him back was just how much he loved his work at White River State Park,” shares Ellen. “Even so, the opportunity at Sun King was the chance of a lifetime to join another team of extraordinarily talented and committed individuals and to add value to an already amazing organization with strong
Since joining the Sun King team in late April, 2016, Bob has worked every job in the brewery, starting in the tasting room. He’s traveled with the sales staff, worked the canning line, and has witnessed firsthand how all the moving parts work in sync. He described it as “Undercover Boss” without the disguise. Dave walked Bob through the brewing process by brewing a batch
SUNLIGHT CREAM ALE ABV: 5.3%
WEE MAC SCOTTISH-STYLE ALE ABV: 5.3%
of Bitchin’ Camaro with him at the Sun King Tap Room & Small Batch Brewery in Fishers. “Our downtown Indy brewery is somewhat automated, but in Fishers one measures everything. It’s very hands on,” says Bob. “I’ve also been out with the draft technicians cleaning the draft lines in restaurants, a key to quality with kegged beer, which often resides a significant distance from the taps.”
OSIRIS PALE ALE ABV: 5.6%
OUR HOUSE BEERS ARE AVAILABLE YEAR-ROUND AT OUR BREWERY AND THROUGHOUT CENTRAL INDIANA, IN BOTH CANS AND ON DRAFT.
“A lot of people were curious why Sun King chose to bring on a new president with no experience in the world of brewing. But as a company that is transitioning from scrappy start-up into a mature business there is a whole different set of skills that are necessary for success,” Clay says. “Bob’s background and connections throughout the community, combined with his passion for all things local and his desire to help make Indiana a great place to live, work, and play, made him a great fit for Sun King.” Since inception, the commitment to a quality product is evident in the thoughtful consideration of each product Sun King produces. For example, it took Dave and Clay two years of research and a significant financial investment to make Sunlight Cream Ale and Wee Mac Scottish Ale shelf stable at room temperature for grocery stores. For care in distribution, most beers would just be thrilled to have third-party sales and distribution. While Sun King does have distribution throughout the state of Indiana, they self-distribute within Marion County and regularly clean the lines from
keg to tap, ensuring the highest quality beer reaches their customers. Sun King maintains a strong presence at numerous events. In 2016 they participated onsite or donated to more than 700 events. To date, Sun King has more than 350 community partner organizations and a full team focused exclusively upon community development. Sun King’s goal is to become Indiana’s beer, with plans to extend outreach through festivals and events in the bordering cities of Louisville, Cincinnati and Chicago. The intention is not to sell beer out of state, but to create the demand for those residents in Kentucky, Ohio, and Illinois to cross the state line to buy Sun King. Bob refers to Dave and Clay as the visionary driving forces behind the company, its innovative concoctions, and the expansion into spirits. “One of the ideas presented in their original business plan was to expand into distilling,” INDY METRO / JANUARY 2017 / TownePost.com
shares Bob. “With the rapid growth, other elements took precedence so now we are able to move forward with liquor.” The distillery will be built from the ground up in the Midtown District of Carmel with a prime location on the Monon Trail between Main Street and the Palladium. Construction is set to begin during the first quarter of 2017 with hopes of opening before the end of the year. "I worked closely with Bob as Sun King developed its plans for building something unique along our Monon Trail,” says Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard. “I am consistently impressed with his vision and ideals for how he sees Sun King growing in the future. We're pleased he chose Carmel for this new direction and we are happy to be sharing in his success." Indiana’s beer may also soon be Indiana’s spirits. For more information, please visit sunkingbrewing.com.
torchlite’s SHAWN HERRING
CENTER GROVE RESIDENT SHAWN HERRING, CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER AND CO-FOUNDER OF TORCHLITE®
atCenterGrove.com / JANUARY 2017 / CENTER GROVE COMMUNITY MAGAZINE / 17
Writer / Kara Kavensky Photographer / Brian Brosmer
W
hen Susan Marshall originally shared her idea with Shawn Herring, he instinctively knew she was on to something. Both former ExactTarget employees and both marketing experts, the disruptive digital marketing concept Marshall presented was attractive. Circling in Dustin McCormick, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, a partnership was formed, and along with backing from investors, including former Salesforce CEO Scott McCorkle, the torch was lit. Marshall the founder and CEO, had the vision for simplifying
marketers’ lives by providing the technology and a network of experts to help businesses acquire new customers through digital marketing. The technology element of Torchlite® is a SaaS (Software as a Service) platform that enables businesses to execute digital marketing campaigns and extend their team through a network of certified experts and a platform that manages workflow, collaboration and reporting. Torchlite® utilizes a vetted network of digital marketing experts. They aggregate and analyze data that drive their customer’s business, seeking tailored solutions for their clients. “We take a quality approach, not quantity approach and base the
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experience upon what our customer needs,” Herring says of the Torchlite® platform. “Given Shawn’s extensive marketing experience and his passion for the Torchlite® company culture, which is reflected in the results Torchlite® achieves for their clients, I am excited for their future,” says Trent Decatur, CEO of East West Group. For about the past year, Torchlite® and Inside INdiana Business have worked together on social media initiatives focused on the Inside Indiana Business platform. “Shawn has a great capacity to understand your pain, quickly come
up with a solution, and then communicate it in a way that everyone understands,” said Gerry Dick, president of Indianapolis-based Grow Indiana Media Ventures, LLC. “He is a great combination of tech-savvy entrepreneur and problem solver.” “With Torchlite®, a client can build their own marketing campaigns in our dashboard and expand their marketing team to complement their needs,” Herring says. “We think this will become a really big deal.” Herring may be right. Capitalizing on the gig economy within the digital marketing realm makes them the Uber of this space. Since inception 18 months ago, Torchlite® has grown to 25 employees inhouse and more than 250 vetted marketing professionals ready to
atCenterGrove.com / JANUARY 2017 / CENTER GROVE COMMUNITY MAGAZINE / 19
“ Center Grove is exactly what we want out of a community: good schools, good community, and amazing extra curricular activities for our kids. We have great neighbors and can’t see our family anywhere else.” service the needs of its customers. “Each client needs specific elements to complement their existing staff,” Herring says. “We work with our customers to figure out the problem they wish to solve and build a team around the customer to help create the optimal solution.” Torchlite® offices are located on Massachusetts Avenue, downtown. Herring and his family live in Center Grove. Herring’s wife, Amy, is a Center Grove High School graduate. “Center Grove is exactly what we want out of a community: good schools, good community, and amazing extra curricular activities for our kids,” Herring says. “We have great neighbors and can’t see our family anywhere else.”
In a world of change, our focus is steadfast.
Please visit torchlite.com for more information.
317-261-1900 Kara Kavensky is the Editorial Manager for the Towne Post Magazines. Follow her: Karakavensky.com; Facebook, Instagram and Twitter: @karakavensky.
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BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT Prime Lending 317.215.6210 lo.primelending.com/greenwood 843 N. State Road 135, Suite B Greenwood, IN 46142
HOME LOANS CLOSE TO HOME Photographer / Marc Sirkin
“National strength, local expertise.” It’s not just a motto at national mortgage lender PrimeLending; it sums up the mindset that’s helped pave the way for success at the company’s Greenwood branch. Backed by PlainsCapital Bank, the branch operates with the feel of a local small business, focusing on helping those in the community get the home loans that they need. The branch’s homegrown team has the advantage of being familiar with the Greenwood area. “All of our loan officers live in or around Greenwood,” says branch manager Mack Howell (Nationwide Multi-State Licensing System No. 362121). “This is our community, and this is where our kids go to school. We really understand the people here and their environment.”
LOCAL PERSONAL ASSISTANCE
Helping local customers understand the loan process is one of the many things that sets Howell’s team apart from its competition. Unlike many other national lenders, when borrowers want to learn about their loan options, their phone calls aren’t directed to a national call center. Instead, borrowers get to speak directly to the branch’s loan officers. Customers also have access to floatdown options, which can help them get a lower interest rate if rates drop. Additionally, to help save time and streamline operations, customers have access to cutting-edge apps and other tools to send in documents needed during the application process.
Loan officers have various reasons for choosing the industry that they’re in, but at this branch, their dedication to wanting to make a difference is apparent. “The best part is the people, the clients Branch loan officers guide homebuyers through the loan process, you help,” says Brian Brent (NMLS No. 368334). “It’s an industry taking the time to listen to borrowers’ financial goals and work to that allows you to focus on service.” That commitment to service help find the right mortgage products. Whether they’re looking began when the branch opened in October 2010, igniting the to buy a new house, renovate or refinance their current mortgage, team’s drive to overcome obstacles and succeed. The team didn’t customers have access to a wide variety of loan options, including have furniture for the first few weeks after opening, so everyone low-down-payment programs and programs geared toward firsttime improvised. “We all worked out of lawn chairs in one room,” homebuyers. says Howell with a chuckle. It’s just one of the experiences that’s helped unify the team and developed its sense of camaraderie. “We know that buying a house is one of the most important decisions anyone will make,” says branch loan officer Jody Bleier To learn more about your home loan options, stop by the (NMLS No. 226933). “That’s important to us, and we want Greenwood PrimeLending branch. It’s conveniently located customers to understand the process. We don’t want them to be at 843 N. State Road 135, Suite B. totally lost. I remember being a first-time homebuyer.” 22 / CENTER GROVE COMMUNITY MAGAZINE / JANUARY 2017 / atCenterGrove.com
“The best part is the people, the clients you help. It’s an industry that allows you to focus on service.” — Brian Brent
atCenterGrove.com / JANUARY 2017 / CENTER GROVE COMMUNITY MAGAZINE / 23
GREENWOOD WELCOMES JACK’S DONUTS! Writer / Michelle Kaufman photographer / Samantha Brammer
Jack’s Donuts, started in New Castle in 1961, will soon have a new home through a franchise in Greenwood. Franchisee Ralph Allen was first introduced to the Jack’s Donuts brand at the Fishers location when he would take his three grandkids there after soccer games. “They like to go to Jack’s Donuts in Fishers,” he said. “I was sitting there watching the process, watching the friendly staff behind the counter, and just watching the amount of people that were coming into the store. I just got curious about it and I started doing research on it.” He soon met with Jack’s Donuts CEO Lee Marcum and decided to open his own franchise. Allen has lived in Greenwood since 1972 and saw a quality doughnut shop in the Greenwood area would be well received. Allen was previously a part owner of Century 21 Landtree, where he built 150 homes in areas such as the Walnut Woods neighborhood. After the 2008 recession he
began looking into other businesses and thought he would enjoy owning a doughnut shop. He has been training, along with his staff, at two existing Jack’s Donuts locations, including the original store in New Castle. Allen acquired the former Zoey’s Pizzeria in Greenwood and has been transforming it into a coffee shop with flat screen televisions, free Wi-Fi, a coffee bar, different types of seating and a drive-up window. Allen plans to open the Greenwood store around New Year’s Day, but he plans to wait to open the drive-up window until his 10 to 15 employees become fully acclimated with the store’s operations.
by the time the store opens at 4:30 a.m.
“I think this location is going to be great. We’re in the heart of the Greenwood/ Center Grove community,” he explained. “I’m hoping that the people of both the communities will enjoy our product. I feel really good that this is going to be a very unique, but also very pleasant, place for people to come and enjoy.”
“I’m just hoping it becomes a go-to place for people who want doughnuts,” Allen said. “I would like to be the main doughnut store here in the Greenwood/Center Grove marketing area. I hope that people will come in not only for our doughnuts, but also our coffee and just a casual dining experience. When I used to build houses, it was always exciting for me to see something kind of rise out of the ground from a vacant lot … coming in, making changes and trying to visualize what you want and watching it come to fruition. For me, that’s always been the exciting part.”
Allen wants to give his Jack’s location an old-fashioned feel as well as make it someplace to host business meetings or breakfast groups. His bakers will come in at 1 to 2 a.m. to ensure doughnuts will be fresh
Jack’s Donuts of Greenwood will be open 4:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week. No official opening date has been announced. The store is located at 3115 Meridian Parke Drive.
24 / CENTER GROVE COMMUNITY MAGAZINE / JANUARY 2017 / atCenterGrove.com
Shon Joyner Local Marine Stars in New Discovery Channel Survival Show, The Wheel
After a lengthy application and audition process, which included a full physical and psychological evaluation among many other requirements, Joyner was chosen as one of six cast members for Discovery Channel’s new extreme survival challenge series, “The Wheel.”
and SOS devices that can be used at any time to quit the challenge and call for help. The contestants must procure food, water and shelter. And when the wheel turns again, they will be thrust into a new location and forced to use a completely different set of skills to survive.
The show, according to The Discovery Channel, is the ultimate survival test. Six participants are challenged to survive in six grueling landscapes across South Shon, who was a Marine for six years and America. With every turn of the wheel, served in combat, said a fellow Marine each survivalist is dropped into a new who had lost an arm and leg in combat isolated location, exposed to the world’s heard about the competition challenged deadliest terrains, including freezing him to apply. When the application arrived tundra, rugged mountains and treacherous in his inbox, he decided to step up to rainforest. Participants don’t know when or the task to honor his fellow Marines and why the wheel will turn. Each contestant submitted it. is equipped only with a light survival pack
Once Joyner received the news he’d been selected, he had only two weeks back in Fishers to prepare himself, and then was flown back to Los Angeles briefly before beginning the challenge, where he was flown to an undisclosed location, at which time all six participants met for the first time. They were then split up, and each dropped in their first environment. The hardest part of the experience, he said, was the isolation. Because there was no camera crew, he was taught how to film his
Writer / Lisa Mitchell Photographer / Brian Brosmer & Provided by The Discovery Channel/The Wheel
What motivates a person to voluntarily put himself in the most extreme and dangerous environments on the planet, completely isolated, with nothing but his resilience to keep him alive? That’s the question I had the opportunity to ask Fishers resident Shon Joyner.
INDY METRO / JANUARY 2017 / TownePost.com
adventure from his own point of view.
time remembering how to drive.
He says it’s hard to put into words what the isolation feels like, including depending only upon yourself for your own survival. He credits his time in the Marines for helping to prepare him, but the isolation made it a vastly different experience.
One unexpected result of the experience was a change to his senses, and how he experiences his environment.
Joyner said, “Combat with the enemy versus combat with yourself in complete isolation are two totally different battles. In combat, you have other Marines to go through the experience with. With this you’re completely on your own. The isolation is horrible. “Every day felt like 5 days,” he continued. “Your entire concept of time changes. You only see the 30 minutes of edited footage. You don’t see the other 23.5 hours of the struggle that I go through. But it happened and I lived it.” Joyner says that the experience challenged him in ways he never thought possible, even with his service in the Marines. The most surprising thing to him was how emotionally broken he became as days stretched on and his sense of isolation grew. Even during transports from one hellish location to the next, the production crew could offer no comfort, assistance, or even interact with him on any level not critical to moving him to the next location. Joyner was unable to share the final result of his experience, but he said that upon returning home he had a hard time re-acclimating to his “normal” environment. In fact, he said he isolated himself for a week before leaving his home and reengaging with the outside world. He said he had a hard time remembering how to use his phone, and the first time he got in his car he sat there for 10 minutes because he had a hard
“I felt like my body transformed, became animal like in some way, because it had to,” he said. “My survival depended on it.”
When asked by the producers of the show if he would consider doing it again, he said he absolutely would. “It’s a rare, life-changing opportunity.” You can watch Shon Joyner on The Wheel when it premieres Friday, January 13, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on The Discovery Channel.
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KEEPING A RIVALRY ALIVE: GAUGUIN V. SEURAT Writer / Kara Kavensky
The Indianapolis Museum of Art, founded in 1883, is one of the oldest art museums in the United States. That same year, 35year old Paul Gauguin left his successful position as a Parisian stockbroker to dedicate his life to art (to the distress of his wife, with whom he had five children). Three years later, Gauguin would paint a pivotal and influential work, Still Life with Profile of Laval. Still Life with Profile of Laval, which is currently on display in the European Galleiesr, is the cornerstone of the Pont-Aven Collection acquired by the IMA from international art collector Samuel Josefowitz in 1998. This famous painting is going on tour later this year, first to The Art Institute of Chicago, and then on to the world famous Musee d’Orsay in Paris. The acquisition of works by Gauguin and his followers, included in the Pont-Aven Collection, elevated the prestige of the IMA in international art circles. Of the 17 paintings in the collection,
three are by Gauguin. The Pont-Aven Collection also includes 84 prints by Gauguin and his cronies. “In addition to the Pont-Aven Collection, we have the best collection of Neo-Impressionist paintings in the world outside of the Musee d’Orsay and the Kroller-Muller Museum in Europe,” says Ellen Lee, Wood-Pulliam Senior Curator and a friend of Josefowitz. The IMA already possessed one masterpiece by the founder of the movement, Georges Seurat, The Channel of Gravelines, and Petit Fort Philippe, through a generous donation in 1945 from Mrs. James W. Fesler, in memory of her parents. Indianapolis businessman W. J. Holliday gave the IMA’s core collection of works by Seurat’s followers to the IMA in 1979. Other strategic additions were made more recently through the family and friends of Robert S. Ashby. Inside the European Art Galleiesr, the juxtaposition of the PontAven Collection gallery adjacent to the Neo-Impressionist
TownePost.com / JANUARY 2017 / INDY METRO
collection gallery continues a rivalry, which now stretches across an ocean. The history of the contentious relationship between Gauguin and Seurat is something of legend. Gauguin is 11 years older than Seurat and yet their artistic journeys are parallel. Each began drawing and painting in 1873. The eighth (and final) Exhibition of Impressionists opened May 15, 1886, in Paris. The lead up was filled with controversy as Monet, Renoir, Sisley and Caillebotte withdrew from participation due to the acceptance of newcomer Georges Seurat. Camille Pissarro had pushed for Seurat’s inclusion. Just before the opening, Degas insisted the word “impressionists” be removed from the announcements. Gauguin displayed a huge collection, whereas Seurat showed only a few works, including La Grande Jatte, (owned by The Art Institute of Chicago). La Grande Jatte and the other paintings of Seurat garnered the most attention from the Exhibition. Gauguin’s keen disappointment that Seurat had garnered most of the Exhibition’s acclaim was heightened by the realization that his former mentor, Pissarro, was now a follower of the young Seurat. If social media existed in 1886, the throwdown tweets after the eighth and final Impressionist Exhibition would've been something like this: @gauguin my exhibit is bigger and better than Seurat’s dots #gohomelittleboy @seurat The old man brought the goods yet I #dominated Still Life with Profile of Laval was painted the winter following the famous final Exhibition. Arguably much of the best and most
representative work of Gauguin will be in close quarters with Seurat in Chicago this June since La Grande Jatte, the talk of the eighth Exhibition, is in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. At the IMA, the Gauguin paintings in the Pont-Aven Collection include: Flageolet Player on the Cliff, Christmas Night and Still Life with Profile of Laval. Flageolet Player on the Cliff, was painted by Gauguin the summer before Seurat created The Channel of Gravelines, both currently on display in the IMA’s European Galleries. Pont-Aven is located in the Brittany region of France. It is here that Paul Gauguin attracted a group of artists, creating the PontAven post-impressionist movement. Georges Seurat moved in a different direction, to various ports in northern France, when he wanted a break from the Paris studio. Still Life with Portrait of Laval almost didn’t make the flight to Indianapolis when the collection was acquired in 1998, as it was flagged during the legal due diligence because a prior owner bore the name Herzog. The wealthy Herzog family, led by patriarch Baron Mor Lipot Herzog, amassed the largest collection of art in Budapest, Hungary in the early 20th century. The baron died in 1934, leaving his estate divided amongst his three children. Still Life with Portrait of Laval was given to his middle son, Andras Herzog. Andras married and divorced Maria Izabella Farravicini, with whom he had two daughters. Andras later died in a forced labor camp in 1943. Allied postwar protocol required works of art to be returned to their countries of origin. There is existing litigation today by other Herzog heirs, regarding other works of art still in Hungary. After the war Still Life with Portrait of Laval was
INDY METRO / JANUARY 2017 / TownePost.com
safeguarded and inventoried in Germany by Indiana native Thomas Carr Howe, Jr., one of the original Monuments Men. It was then shown to have been legally released by Hungary to a Countess Istvan Bethlen in 1948. This countess was Andras’ ex-wife, who had remarried. The painting bears the stamped seal of the Hungarian government on the back of the canvas, which enabled its legal departure from Hungary. The Countess promptly sold the Gauguin masterpiece, and it was eventually purchased by Josefowitz. “It was my dream, made possible by the IMA’s expansion in 2006, to juxtapose our Seurat collection with our Gauguin material, creating a permanent space in the European Galleries for these two major movements of the late 1800s,” adds Lee. Gauguin’s Still Life with Portrait of Laval is small in stature, yet rich in meaning. Art historians may continue their discourse in perpetuity over the symbolism of each element of this painting. “The Pont-Aven period for Gauguin is when he became a mature artist,” shares Lee. “He painted incredible works while in Tahiti, but it was Pont-Aven, years earlier, where he had his breakthrough.” Still Life with Portrait of Laval abounds in personal symbolism of the artist. The ceramic vessel in the center of the table was created by Gauguin. In an 1887 letter to his wife, Gauguin drew a sketch of the sculpture and wrote: “Did you also bring a pot I made; keep it carefully for me. I like it, unless you are able to sell it (for a good price, 100 francs).” There is no evidence today that the piece still exists, as its whereabouts are unknown. The still life and white tablecloth are an homage to Cezanne, whom Gauguin admired greatly. Charles Laval is a Gauguin groupie and friend. They met in Pont-Aven the summer of 1886. The cropped image of Laval in the painting is indicative of the style of Degas, who was a mentor to Gauguin. The choppy nature of the addition of Laval’s profile is a modern approach to a portrait, referencing Degas’ style. A highly speculative element of the painting is the middle section. Scholars think it to be a window or a mirror, or possibly something entirely different. Through scientific examination, the mystery of this upper center region of the painting may be close to be being solved. “Under infrared light, the middle area appears to be that of a mirror, as the imaging shows a clear reflection of Laval’s profile,” states Senior Conservator of Paintings Linda Witkowski.
IMA EXHIBITS • Adjacent to the Pont Aven gallery, is What Lies Beneath • CSI: Conservation Science Indianapolis, Chemistry of Color • European Gallery (H208, H209) - Open for viewing the contentious styles of Gauguin and Seurat, with limited viewing of Still Life with Profile of Laval until it goes on tour.
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THE FUTURE OF CENTER GROVE White River Township Trustee Mark Messick
Writer / Andi Robinson
Before we talk about the future of Center Grove, we need ask an important question: What is Center Grove? It is not a town or city. It does not show up on anyone’s mailing address. It is definitely a school district. But even Center Grove Community School Corporation Superintendent Dr. Richard Arkanoff says that there is more to Center Grove.
“Center Grove is more than just the school district. It is a community that is a great place to live and to raise a family,” he said. “The community is very supportive of the goals and dreams of the people in it.” Many people identify with the area of Center Grove above and beyond the school district. Most of the area of Center Grove is technically unincorporated White River
Township. But there are also overlaps with the city of Greenwood as well as the town of Bargersville. According to White River Township Trustee Mark Messick, three different bodies govern township residents, depending on where they live. The town of Bargersville governs residents to the southeast of the township borders; Greenwood governs residents to the northeast, and Johnson County
atCenterGrove.com / JANUARY 2017 / CENTER GROVE COMMUNITY MAGAZINE / 33
“ Center Grove is more than just the school district. It is a community that is a great place to live and to raise a family. The community is very supportive of the goals and dreams of the people in it.” —RICHARD ARKANOFF
governs the remainder. Messick, as the trustee, acts as a liaison with the other governmental bodies. The township is responsible for administering welfare assistance, taking care of abandoned cemeteries, establishing weed-control policies and creating and administering the township budget.
P
r i v a t e
B
a n k i n g
exPerience You can Bank on.
The unincorporated portions of White River Township are home to approximately 30,000 people, which is large by the standards of most municipalities. If you include the entire township, the number is more than 40,000. For reference, in 2013 the town of Zionsville had 25,115 residents, the city of Greenwood had 53,655 residents and the town of Bargersville had 6,409 residents. Between 2000 and 2010, the township grew by more than 18 percent.
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So what does the future hold for the residents of “Center Grove?” There have been a number of new developments in recent years, and there is still room for growth. There have been several apartment complexes and independentliving facilities built, which increases the number of residents in need of services such as police, fire and utilities. Local medical facilities are taking notice and building more local medical complexes. There are a number of new churches, and you can see the growth in new restaurants and other retail outlets, as well. There has also been an increase in the number of banks and restaurants.
So call Tricia Rake today at 317-261-9755. Because she doesn’t apply formulas to determine your financial success. She applies experience.
An upcoming issue is the extension of I-69 between Martinsville and Indianapolis, which is slated to be built along the current State Road 37 corridor and completed between 2022 and 2027. While the development will cause a
Tricia Rake Vice President, Private Banker NMLS #473860 ©2016 The National Bank of Indianapolis
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number of residents to lose their homes and businesses to relocate, it will also bring commercial development along the route. The city of Greenwood, under the current laws, can annex parts of the area as it has done to the west of State Road 135. It could annex the retail areas along Smith Valley Road, west to State Road 37, as well as the east-west corridors of Whiteland Road and County Road 144. This would leave the residents that live in this area as residents of unincorporated White River Township, while Greenwood would collect retail taxes from the businesses. Growth and development in this area is not set to decline any time soon. According to Messick, “We are booming again. White River Township is one of the fastest growing areas in Central Indiana as far as residential homes being built.” With more people comes more business, so stay tuned for more people and more congestion in the Center Grove area.
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“MR. RONCALLI”
BOB TULLY A BLESSING AT RONCALLI HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE PAST 55 YEARS Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photographer / Brian Brosmer 36 / CENTER GROVE COMMUNITY MAGAZINE / JANUARY 2017 / atCenterGrove.com
B
ob Tully never planned a career in education. His dream, back when he was studying criminology at Indiana University in the early 1960s, was to become a state trooper. That dream was dashed, however, when he didn’t meet the height requirement. But while still at IU, Jim MacGregor, Tully’s former high football coach from Providence High School, asked him if he’d ever considered teaching high school. Even though he hadn’t, he was intrigued at the prospect.
In the early ‘60s, the Catholic faith was growing at a rapid rate on the south side of Indianapolis. Since no Catholic high school existed nearby, in 1961 the community banded together to erect Bishop Chartrand High School, the first Catholic co-educational high school in the city. And they were looking for teachers. The new school opened its doors to a freshman class in 1962. Tully, who was finishing up his degree at IU, split his time between the Bloomington campus and the Indianapolis IU extension. He fit in
atCenterGrove.com / JANUARY 2017 / CENTER GROVE COMMUNITY MAGAZINE / 37
“I feel like I retired 54 years ago because I love what I do.” —BOB TULLY
work around his studies, spending his afternoons coaching at the new high school and his evenings mopping its floors and cleaning its bathrooms. As the school taught only freshman the first year, Tully lived in the vacant second floor, acting as nighttime security guard. On a few occasions, he glimpsed the life of the state trooper he had once aspired to be. “That’s when I found out that God had a reason for that height requirement,” quips Tully.
matriculation of his former students’ sons, daughters, grandsons, and granddaughters. Though he’s in his sixth decade working in education, Tully says it hasn’t felt like a lifetime of labor. Perhaps it’s because he followed his dad’s advice, who used to tell him, “Find a job you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” “I feel like I retired 54 years ago because I love what I do,” says Tully.
He began teaching driver’s education in 1963 and went on to teach several subjects, including religion, algebra, and social studies.
It’s safe to say that he’s not lamenting his squashed dream of having never donned that state trooper uniform.
In 1969, Chartrand merged with Sacred Heart High School to form Roncalli High School. Right from the start, Tully knew he had found his true calling.
“It’s just as well,” he admits. “Frankly, I think I mostly just liked the hat.”
“I loved what I was doing. I loved the place I was doing it. And I loved the south side of Indy,” says Tully. “It was all just a giant love affair.” Through the years, Tully has coached many sports, though his favorite is football. He acted as assistant coach for 46 years until his heart doctor advised him to stop due to Indiana’s intense August heat. During his tenure as assistant football coach, the school won nine state championships.
For more information about Roncalli High School, visit the school’s website at www.roncalli.org/. About the author: Christy Heitger-Ewing is an award-winning Avon-based writer and columnist who writes human interest stories for national, regional, and local magazines. She is also the author of the book “Cabin Glory: Amusing Tales of Time Spent at the Family Retreat” (www.cabinglory.com).
“I tell everybody that I took the boys to the state championships. And I did,” says Tully with a grin. “I literally took them there, because I drove the bus.” Tully, who has been married for 50 years to Mary Pat, stopped teaching in 2007 when he transitioned into the role of Vice President for Mission and Ministry. Despite not being front and center in the classroom, he still connects daily with the students. Haley Vandagrifft, who graduated in May 2016, is one of his many fans. “Bob Tully is like the heart of Roncalli,” she says. “He always has something insanely hilarious, heartwarming, and faith-inspiring to say.” Now that he’s been in the building for 55 years, Tully, also known as “Mr. Roncalli” due to his longevity at the school, has witnessed the
Visit atGreenwood.com to watch our interview with Mr. Tully as he talks about how his height determined his career path, living on the third floor in the early years, and what makes Roncalli High School such a special place.
38 / CENTER GROVE COMMUNITY MAGAZINE / JANUARY 2017 / atCenterGrove.com
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